Mike Bruu: Cleaning Out the ol’ Sports Notebook

As a sports writer, I am used to keeping a lot of notes during the week from interviews with coaches and players, as well as interesting tidbits of information I might find from other sources online or in a newspaper. At the end of the week I usually discard a majority of the notes in the ol’ garbage can, but I thought I would share some of the information with you this week and share some of the more interesting stories from around the Mac.

— According to the SportsDayHS.com 5A area football rankings, there are three schools in the top 20 from District 10-5A. Allen comes in at No. 1 with a 4-0 record, while Plano East (4-0) is No. 11 and Plano (3-0) is No. 17. McKinney High and McKinney Boyd are going to be in the spotlight several times in the next month or two when they do battle with these teams.

— Cowboys Stadium will be the site of the 2012 UIL football state championships from classes 1A-5A. Is there any local event that doesn’t take place at Jerry Land anymore?

— McKinney North football came out of non-district play with a record of 0-3, but played Carrollton Newman Smith, Prosper, and Frisco Centennial, who all have a combined record of 8-1 through week three. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, the combined record of the entire District 13-4A members through week three is 7-17, with Denison, Greenville, North, Royse City, and Wylie all sitting at 0-3. Lovejoy is a top the district with a 3-0 record, while Sherman and Wylie East are tied for second at 2-1.

— On the other hand, Boyd and MHS belong in District 10-5A, where the combined record of the members is 19-4. Two of the losses are next to the Broncos’ name, with Plano West earning the other two defeats. Allen, MHS, and Plano East are all undefeated at 4-0, while Plano is a half-game back with a 3-0 record after a bye in week two. Boyd and Plano West are both 2-2.

— After a record-setting night last Friday, Boyd running back Bryan Driskell has run for 648 yards on just 69 carries, which equates to a 9.39 yards per carry average. He is currently averaging 162 yards per game through four contests and is on pace to run for more than 1,500 yards this season. Mansfield’s running back Kenneth Burks leads the 5A area with 838 yards, but has had 51 more carries than Driskell.

— One of the great surprises this fall has been the MHS football team, and a large part of their success this season has been their explosiveness on offense. Receivers Connor Fuentes, T.V. Williams, and Red Shannon all have more than 200 yards receiving and more than four touchdowns. But the most extraordinary number might just be the yards per catch, with Fuentes (24 receptions, 400 yards, 5 TD) having a 16.7 YPC average, Williams (18 rec., 387 yards, 7 TD) at 21.5 YPC, and Shannon (12 rec., 203 yards, 4 TD) at 16.9 YPC. Pretty incredible numbers through just four games for the Lions receivers.

— By the way, Packers safety M.D. Jennings intercepted that pass in the end zone over Golden Tate. Worst call I have ever seen. OK, moving on now.

— For those wondering, basketball season tips off in just a little more than a month. The Boyd girls’ team kicks off the MISD action on October 27th when Grapevine, Wylie East, and Frisco Liberty come to the Bronco Gym for scrimmage action. All three boys teams play their first scrimmage game on November 3rd, with Boyd welcoming Mansfield Legacy and Prosper, MHS traveling to Flower Mound, and North taking on Flower Mound Marcus on the road.

— Time for a little selfish plug, but please check out the second episode of ‘The Sports Bar’ on TSB featuring our volleyball writer, Audra Paine, quizzing some Boyd volleyball players and coaches about the history of the game. It is really funny and a great watch, so please check it out! (By clicking right here, in fact.)

Make sure you check out the TSB football Game of the Week on Friday night when McKinney High looks to stay perfect as the Lions host Denton Ryan at Ron Poe Stadium. Kick off is set for 7:30 p.m.